Our friends
Filled with joy and quest
Begin to arrive
A young man Apparated a couple of yards away from a large rusty gate. The lane beyond it was pleasantly shadowed by old trees and bordered by thousands of herbs and colourful flowers.
To the man’s right, numerous green houses were gleaming in the sun, as far as the eye could see. To his left, there stood an elegant new green house, and nearer to the gates were the modernly designed laboratories.
George made directly for the labs and crossed an elegant lobby. Extraordinary pot plants grew surrounded by brass labels, photos of the researchers doing field work in exotic countries, and of the president of the foundation with famous witches and wizards. A young secretary was rummaging for something in a lower drawer beyond a large counter, above which a new copper-like line of capital letters were magically held in the air:
‘Excuse me, Sir.’
‘Ouch! Sorry. Sir, how can I help you?’
‘George Weasley, I have an appointment with Professor Longbottom.’
‘The president is on his way. Take a seat,’ the secretary invited.
George sat and grabbed one of the foundation’s leaflets off the coffee table. After the war, Mrs. Longbottom had decided to share the estate and her very large fortune with her beloved grandson, for him to make the Wizarding World a better place.
Neville had thus financed his first travels and as he came back with more and more samples
and discoveries, he established the Foundation, hired two Hogwarts graduates recommended by Professor Sprout and had soon gained the title of Professor himself at an exceptionally early age after numerous outstanding publications. The Foundation now had its own journal, apparently, but George did not have time to reach for the latest edition.
‘George!’
‘Neville! How do you do?’
‘I’m so happy to see you here. Work is over at last! Have you seen the new green house?’
‘I did, Neville, it’s wonderful. I’ll have to bring Angelina here!’
‘You two - or shall I say you three - can come whenever you want! Now, do you want a tour, or are you in a hurry to discuss this mysterious matter that you would not disclose by owl?’
‘I want to visit! We can talk over lunch.’
Neville looked delighted, but eventually frowned.
‘Hum, Gran has insisted we join her for lunch. Anything we can’t discuss in front of her?’
‘No, it’s all right; she might as well hear.’
They started by the new laboratories, then went to the brand new green house, both courtesy of the wealthy Lovegood patronage for scientific research. The Quibber had become a must after Voldemort’s fall and Xenophilius Lovegood donated generously to research, undoubtedly influenced by his daughter.
Soon caught in memories and catching up on other things, the two young men ended up strolling aimlessly among the renovated green houses and less maintained lanes.
‘How was the last expedition, anyway? You came back late, does it mean anything exciting was uncovered?’
‘In a way of speaking,’ Neville chuckled. ‘Actually, Luna’s still there.’
‘Oh, I didn’t know.’
Luna and Neville had begun the habit, when they started their research expeditions in their respective fields, to travel together. George knew it was more a pretence to avoid worry from their families since they were traveling out in the wild; they actually often took separate paths once in the area of destination to study their own subjects. However, they used to always come back together.
‘She's in town, though; we’ve finished some very satisfying field research in Zanzibar. But we were meant to stop over in Mogadishu on the way back, to meet some colleagues from the museum over there; people we had corresponded with, you know, when we did cross research… Well, never mind; we did go there and guess who we met in wizarding Mogadishu?’
‘You really want me guess?’
‘No, I’m going to tell you: The great-great-grandson of none other than Newt Scamander! Come on, George, Scamander! The author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.’
‘Oh, I see! Luna must have been thrilled!’
‘Yeah, so was I! We spent the first evening talking with him until dawn! Then Rolf would not hear of us staying one more night in the Inn and we stayed at his villa, that’s why we extended our stay.’
‘He’s living there, then?’
‘Yes, he’s from Somalia.’
‘So, Luna stayed behind. I bet they’re already planning some dangerous expedition to prove the existence of Histiomentulas, or worse. With those two brought together, there soon won’t be a single legendary creature left to scare the children with!’
Neville laughed at the idea. They had reached the very confines of the large Longbottom estate and overviewed the small castle. Neville gestured to it.
‘We’d better go down there, it’s lunch time.’
They Apparated with a crack on a large terrace, where Mrs. Longbottom was hovering around the lunch table.
‘Mr. Weasley, what a pleasure to see you again. You look well.’
A shadow passed over the young man’s face as he recalled having seen Mrs. Longbottom for the last time at his brother’s funeral three years ago.
‘Come, we will have lunch outside. Such a glorious day; summer has come!’ she invited.
It was the first time George visited Longbottom Park. The castle-like mansion opened to a wide terrace on the park side, viewing a small picturesque lake. A large, ancient greenhouse could also be seen from there on the south-west side of the castle. George gestured to it.
‘It seems there had been some Herbology enthusiasts in the family before Neville,’ he remarked to the old lady.
‘Oh, yes,’ she answered proudly. ‘The series of greenhouses on the Foundation’s part of the estate had been built over a century ago by my great-grandfather. And this particular one here was the result of a more recent whim of my brother Algie.’
She had poured glasses of fresh white wine and they cheered at nothing in particular, happily enjoying the first proper summer day of the season. After lunch, they retreated into a cool breakfast parlor for coffee.
‘So, George, what is it that you wanted us to discuss?’
‘I am planning to travel, Neville, so I could use your experience in the matter. See, I through it was about time for me to go get something back from Persia.’
Understanding drew on Neville and his grandmother’s faces.
‘I should have set out for it long ago. That’s what Fred would have wanted, I’m sure. But I thought she would be back, and, well, I’ll be a father soon and I feel I must do it now.’
Neville was frowning. But Mrs. Longbottom spoke first.
‘You are right. You’ve given the girl enough time to do whatever she is doing over there. It’s been three years. Whether she cannot get what she had set for and she needs help, or she does not want to come back and therefore owes you an explanation, you boys should seek her out; she was your friend.’
‘She is,’ the two boys said together and they smiled weakly as they caught each other’s eyes.
‘George, I have never travelled to those parts because it’s difficult to. Wizards over there are badly oppressed, and so is the Muggle population, to some extent, where we believe Cybele is now. It would be hazardous for a wizard to come and stay long enough to find another witch.’
‘Cybele did it,’ George interrupted
‘Yes, but Cybele is a Magian, George. She does not carry a wand, she is close to omniscient, she would know the codes, she would know who is doing what, who had seen her.’
‘Neville, I don’t want your opinion as to whether or not I should go. I am going to do it. What is your travel advice?’
‘Let me go.’
George didn’t answer.
‘I have never been there but I have experience traveling that I could not pass on to a Diagon Alley shop owner over coffee, George. Besides, I am a scientist; we always travel more easily. I have actually heard of a Wizarding scientist in Teheran; I don’t know what kind of person he is but at least he could help me convince the Muggle authorities that I am there for research purposes. He wouldn’t need to know more.
‘Neville, I didn’t come here to ask you to do it for me, either.’
‘Neville should go,’ Mrs. Longbottom stated simply. ‘You are going to be a father before the first autumn leaves hits the ground. It seems to me, young man, that your place is very much in London the next few months. Neville, I think this is exactly what could solve your problem,’ she added pointedly.
George gave Neville a questioning look.
‘I have to tell you; I was thinking of going and finding Cybele myself. And Gran is right; I should be the one going. Not only because you cannot travel right now and I am more experienced in this matter but also for… professional reasons.’
George maintained eye contact, plainly waiting for Neville to elaborate.
‘Beside the fact that there are countless plants I would like to bring back from there; I want to offer Cybele a job.’
‘A job?’ George repeated.
‘Yes, my job, actually.’
‘Neville has been offered the position of Herbology Professor at Hogwarts,’ Mrs. Longbottom explained proudly.
‘What, wa- congratulations Neville, this is brilliant! But-’
‘I would very much like to say yes, as you can imagine. If I were to decline this time round, who knows if the opportunity would ever present itself again for me…’
‘You have not given your answer yet?’
‘I need someone to manage the Longbottom Foundation. Professorship at Hogwarts is a full time commitment. The Foundation is getting big right now and I am not willing to let it go. The research center needs scientific leadership; bases abroad need regular visits. I have been a president and a director at the same time. If I am away, I will need a director and Cybele is the only witch I know with three outstanding Newts in Herbology, Potions and Care of Magical Creatures.’
‘Let’s go together,’ George offered.
‘I would be glad to accept, George, but as I explained, it would make things more complicated there. I also agree with Gran, I don’t think you are the type of husband to run away to Persia while their wife is pregnant, are you George?’
To this, George didn’t have much to answer.
‘I will leave tomorrow,’ Neville stated in a final tone.
‘Is there anything I can do?’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon with Cybele. We have overcome our differences long ago. It is time she realizes a place is awaiting her in the Wizarding Word. As a matter of fact, it is time she took it; before September the first would be best.’